World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev says he would absolutely love to see Novak Djokovic competing at the US Open.
Djokovic, a 21-time Grand Slam champion, hasn’t been vaccinated against COVID-19 and that’s why he can’t enter the United States for the US Open.
The US Open starts on August 29 and the time is running out for Djokovic to be given the green light to enter the United States.
In Cincinnati, Medvedev was asked whether he would like to see Djokovic at the US Open.
“Yeah, for sure,” Medvedev answered, per Eurosport. “I cannot do anything. It is the government who sets the rules, so I do not know if it can actually change or not. If you ask me, if I would be the decision-maker, sure I want Novak to play. I like it when the tournament [has] the best players in the world.”
Medvedev: Djokovic’s competition against Rafael Nadal is intense
Nadal won the opening two Grand Slams of the season to improve to a record 22 Grand Slams.
Djokovic, who won this past Wimbledon, is now the second all-time with 21 Grand Slams.
Nadal is expected to compete at the US Open.
“This competition against Rafa is super intense and super interesting,” said Medvedev. “So I would love to see him there in New York. But, if for the government rules, he cannot be there, well, everybody is still going to try to do their best and try to win [the] US Open.”
At last year’s US Open, Djokovic had a chance to break the all-time Grand Slam record.
But Medvedev prevented Djokovic from making tennis history as he saw off the Serb in straight-sets in the final.
After losing to Djokovic in the 2021 Australian Open final, Medvedev beat the Serb in the US Open final a few months later to clinch his first Grand Slam title.